Baltimore's Confederate and white supremacist monuments removed by city overnight

"Over night, all four of Baltimore's monuments connected to the Confederacy and white supremacy were swiftly taken down. First, the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Mount Royal Ave (recently splattered with red paint and tagged with "Fuck Trump") and the Roger B. Taney Monument in Mount Vernon, then the Lee-Jackson Monument in Wyman Park Dell (the site of an anti-racism rally on Sunday night) and finally, the Confederate Women's Monument on West University Parkway..." Read the rest of City Paper editor Brandon Soderberg's account here.

Overnight, all four of Baltimore's monuments connected to the Confederacy and white supremacy were swiftly taken down. First, the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Mount Royal Avenue (recently splattered with red paint and tagged with "Fuck Trump") and the Roger B. Taney Monument in Mount Vernon, then the Lee-Jackson Monument in Wyman Park Dell (the site of an anti-racism rally on Sunday night) and finally, the Confederate Women's Monument on West University Parkway.

Word of the low-key removal quickly spread thanks to activist group Baltimore Bloc, and a crowd gathered quickly at Wyman Park Dell—a mix of activists, punks, reporters, and hey, even brilliant Baltimore electronic music duo Matmos for a bit—to watch the massive Lee-Jackson Monument go away for good.

The mood was jovial with the group applauding each step of the removal. Even the police seemed to be in the mood. Capt. Sean Patrick Mahoney of the Baltimore Police joked with the crowd and warned them to be safe.

"Take selfies," he said. "Enjoy it, all right? But be very careful, once that thing starts moving, start taking a walk for me, will you?"

One man who refused to give his name—he said it was "up yours"—was the sole voice of dissent. He said that the city shouldn't be spending money to remove these monuments but on fixing the city's homicide rate. He also had some words for local media, including City Paper.

"You and your liberal City Paper did this crap, you did false reports and lies," he said. "I'll never talk to City Paper or the Baltimore scum."

Mayor Catherine Pugh was also present—spotted across the street from Wyman Park Dell, dressed casual and briefly standing outside of her car, though she made no gesture to the crowd and refused to comment.

Wyman Park Dell too had become a point of almost constant action following Charlottesville. On Sunday, nearly a thousand gathered around the Lee-Jackson Monument and then marched through Charles Village, ending the night by placing an anti-racist sculpture titled "Madre Luz" (Mother Light) in front of the Lee-Jackson Monument. Over the next two days, the sculpture was knocked over in two different incidents. The monument meanwhile, was tagged with, "Black Lives Matter" and "Remember C-Ville," among others.

And yesterday evening, Sean Scott of Owings Mills paced around the Lee-Jackson Monument with a Pan-African flag and a shirt and hat that read "FUCK TRUMP" and chanted, "Donald Trump is a Nazi scumbag," his words echoing through the park and freaking out a few people walking their dogs.

"I'm here especially because of the horrible events in Virginia—um, I actually regret not going but our fake president, Donald Trump, number 45 had a news conference today where he has now equated the opposition me, with inciters of violence, as you see I have not incited any violence, I may have used profanity but I'm peaceful, I'm promising this officer right here I will be peaceful but I need to stand in opposition in outrage," Scott said. "These are monuments to white supremacy, not men of honor. They are enslavers, they fought a war to keep black people as slaves."

After the Lee-Jackson Monument was driven away, activists considered placing "Madre Luz" on the pedestal but yesterday's rain made the sculpture wet and hard to move, and they decided they would do it later on. And some activists, including Payam of Baltimore Bloc and the the Baltimore Spectator, posed on top of the pedestal where the statue once sat and took a few triumphant photos.